AUTOMATIC SEWER CLEANING SYSTEM

SYSTEME DU CURAGE AUTOMATIQUE DE CANALISATIONS D'EGOUT

English Abstract

ABSTRACT
The sewer system is designed for a building comprising
a sewer line and a plurality of plumbing fixtures connected
to the sewer line for carrying the discharge sewage from
the fixtures into the line. A flexible sewer cleaning cable
is permanently installed inside the sewer line. A motor is
permanently coupled to the cable and is adapted to selectively
rotate the cable inside the sewer line, thereby to prevent
material from collecting inside the sewer line. The motor
will rotate the cable for time intervals determined by the
sewer line characteristics in accordance with a prescribed
preventive maintenance program.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR
PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A system for cleaning the sewer line of a building, the sewer line
having a plurality of plumbing fixtures connected thereto, the system
comprising:
a cleaning cable permanently installed in the sewer line, said cleaning
cable being permanently distorted at points along its length in alternate
directions about an axis transverse to said length and being flexible along
the remainder of its length such that said cable can conform to bends in
the sewer line and can conform to a spiral upon rotation; and
drive means for rotating said cable such that said cable cleans out
such sewer line, said drive means including a drive system having a
rotating output and coupling means for connecting said cable to the
rotating output of said drive system.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein said drive means selectively rotates
said cable at predetermined time intervals to prevent sewage materials from
collecting inside the sewer line, such time intervals being determined by
the sewer line characteristics and sewage load carried by the sewer line.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein said drive system includes a timer
and a motor, said timer connected to said motor for programming the
operation of said motor in accordance with the desired preventive schedule
for said sewer line to provide optimum cleaning efficiency.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein said cable has a diameter of
approximately 1/2" and is kinked at spaced intervals to an angle of about
10 degrees.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein said cable is permanently distorted.
6. The system of claim 5 wherein the distortion is created by kinking
said cable at spaced intervals along its length.
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7. The system of claim 1 wherein said drive system includes a motor
mounted in a cabinet and said coupling means includes a shaft extending from
said motor to said cable and seal apparatus disposed between said cabinet and
such sewer line and surrounding said shaft.
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Description

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AUTOI~lATIC S~WER CLEANING SYSTEM
AB S TRACT
The sewer system is designed for a building comprising
a sewer line and a plurality of plun~ing fixtures connected
to the sewer line for carrying the discharge sewage from
the fixtures into the line. A flexible sewer cleaning cable
is permanently installed inside the sewer line. A motor is
permanently coupled to the cable and is ada~ted to selectively
rotate the cable inside the sewer line, thereby to prevent
material from collecting inside the sewer line. The motor
will rotate the cable for time intervals determined by the
sewer line characteristics in accordance with a prescribed
preventive rnaintenance program.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Present day sewer systems for residential, commercial,
industrial and hospital buildings comprise a sewer line and
a plurality of plumbing fixtures connected to the sewer line
for carrying discharge sewage into the line.
In many buildings, homes and con~ercial establishments,
such as restaurants, the sewer line gets frequently plugged
up requiring the services of professional plumbers and
creating a hazard to the sanitary conditions which must
be constantly maintained as required by the health codes.

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In addition, a plugged up sewer line frequently makes a
commercial building unusable for its intended purposes and the
workers may have to remain idle until the sewer line is
unplugged which may take several hours or more, depending on
how fast a plumber is available to unplug the sewer line.
The above problems with conventional sewer systems can
be remedied in accordance with the invention by desiyning a
sewer system which permanently incorporates a sewer line clean-
ing cable therein which is periodically and preferably
automatically operated.
SU~ RY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided
a system for cleaning the sewer line of a building, the sewer
line having a plurality of plumbing fixtures connected thereto,
the system comprising: a cleaning cable permanently installed
in the sewer line, said cleaning cable beïng permanently
distorted at points along its length in alternate directions
about an axis transverse to said length and being flexible
along the remainder of its length such that said cable can con-
form to bends in the sewer line and can conform to a spiralupon rotation; and drive means for rotating said cable such
that said cable cleans out such sewer line, said drive means
including a drive system having a rotating output and coupling
means for connecting said cable to the rotating output of said
drive system.
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BRIEF D~SCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of the sewer system
in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 2 i.s an enlarged view of the coupler connecting
the shaft of a gear box to the sewer line cable;
Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the sewer
line with the sewer line cable installed therein;
Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of the sewer line
extending from the building into the city sewer rnain casing;
and
Fig. 5 is a schematic representation o~ the motor control
system having a timer for operating the motor.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE I~VENTION
In Fig. 1 is shown an illustrative sewer system, such as
exists in a restaurant. The system is generally designated
as 10 and comprises a plurality of fixtures, such as sinks 12,
which discharge sewer liquid through vented feeder pipes 14
typically mounted in the walls of a building 16. The pipes 14
are connected to a common sewer line 20 for the building 16.
Line 20 is typically under the main floor 22 of the buildj.ng.
In a restaurant installation, before the sewer line 20 is
connected to the city main 24 (Fig. 4), it passes through a
grease trap 26 or a clean out 28.
In accordance with the invention a typical sewer installa-
tion is combined with a sewer cable line, generally designated
as 30, which is permanently installed in the sewer line.

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Cable 30 is made of interwoven steel wire and has a dia-
meter of about l/2"~ Cable 30 is kinked at spaced intervals
D, say about l foot apart, with kinks have an angle A of
about 10.
Cable 30 is connected through a coupler connector 32
(Fig. 2) to the output shaft 34 of a reduction gear box 36
of conventional design. The input shaft of gear hox 36 is
connected to the output shaft of an electric motor 38.
Motor 38 is energi~ed from an electric main 39 through a
switch 41.
In the preferred embodiment, switch 31 is connected
to the motor 38 through a conventional timer 40 which can
be manually programmed. Such timers are used, for example,
on television recorders D
Motor 38 is geared down by gear box 36 to about 30
rpm which provides optimum cleaning efficiency for typical
grease lines or sewer lines. The 10 kinks on the 1/2" sewer
cleaning cable 30 help to completely clean out the sewer line,
thereby preventing sewage material from collecting inside
the lines being cleaned. The timer 40 will be turned on
automat:ically in accordance with a desired preventive
cleaning schedule and will energize the motor for a time
interval determined by the sewer line characteristics and
the particular loads carried thereby.
It will be appreciated that a main advantage of the
present invention resides in preventing sewer line plugging
from occurring in the first instance, thereby saving repair
costs which can be substantial on an annual basis, as well as
preventing the idling of workers in business establishments.
~AT I CLAIM IS: